eVTOL Certification Engineer
The job description
Tech stack. FAA type certification, EASA SC-VTOL, 14 CFR Part 23, G-1 issue papers, means of compliance, ARP4754A, ARP4761, DO-178C, DO-254
About the role
You will join an eVTOL aircraft company to lead the vehicle through type certification, the process that turns an experimental aircraft into a product that can carry passengers for hire. This team writes certification plans, negotiates means of compliance with the authorities, and tracks every compliance finding to closure. Your work is the difference between a flying prototype and a certifiable commercial aircraft, and your documents become the legal record of compliance. You will sit at the intersection of engineering and regulation, translating between the two, and your judgment will determine whether certification stays on schedule or stalls.
What you will achieve
- Author certification plans and compliance checklists for assigned systems, getting authority agreement on the means of compliance without rework cycles.
- Drive compliance findings from open to closed, coordinating engineering evidence across structures, systems, software, and test teams on schedule.
- Draft responses to authority questions and issue papers that resolve concerns on the first reply, protecting the program schedule from regulatory churn.
- Build the certification program schedule for your scope, flagging evidence gaps months before they become critical path items.
- Establish the working relationship with the assigned certification engineers at the authority, becoming the trusted point of contact for your technical area. You earn that trust with complete submittals, honest schedules, and technical arguments that hold up under direct questioning.
What you will bring
Must-haves
- 2 to 5 years working type certification programs under FAA or EASA rules with findings you personally drove to closure.
- Working knowledge of 14 CFR Part 23 and the EASA special condition for VTOL aircraft (SC-VTOL), including how G-1 issue papers shape the certification basis.
- Familiarity with ARP4754A, ARP4761, DO-178C, and DO-254 and how they fit together into a coherent compliance strategy.
- Experience writing certification plans, compliance checklists, or means of compliance documents that authorities accepted.
- Technical writing strong enough to produce authority-facing documents that need minimal revision.
- Ability to translate regulatory language into concrete engineering tasks that design teams can execute.
Nice-to-haves
- Direct experience with powered-lift or other novel aircraft certification.
- Background in an engineering discipline such as structures, systems, or software before moving into certification.
- Experience with bilateral validation between FAA and EASA.
- Familiarity with continued airworthiness and instructions for continued airworthiness development.
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